This easy applesauce recipe is made with only two ingredients. If you ever crave a perfectly spiced, healthy snack but are short on time, look no further than homemade applesauce. Ditch the store-bought stuff and create a batch of pure apple magic. This homemade applesauce recipe is easier to make than you may think. It is no-nonsense, far from fancy, and delicious. It has become a foundation in so many of my recipes that use applesauce.

This recipe is so easy, it’s practically foolproof. With just two simple ingredients and about 30 minutes, you can enjoy warm, delicious applesauce made from scratch. Plus, you get to control the sweetness and customize it with your favorite fall spices.

Applesauce is a popular ingredient in many baking recipes. It offers a natural sweetness and moisture boost to baked goods while complementing a wide range of flavors, from warm spices to rich chocolate.

What You Need to Make This Easy Applesauce Recipe

This easy homemade applesauce recipe requires just a few simple ingredients: sweet apples, apple cider, and a large pot. For a touch of warmth, ground cinnamon is a wonderful optional addition.

3 lbs of fresh apples (appx 10-12 apples)
1/2 cup apple cider
optional – 1 tsp ground cinnamon

honeycrisp apples for applesauce recipe with cider

There are numerous different varieties of apples. Whether it’s apple season, and a friend gifted you a bunch of apples, or you are grabbing apples from the local grocery store, opt for whatever variety of apples you like the best. Where one person may love tart apples, another may enjoy sweet. The kind of apple you use for this recipe may vary depending on your personal preference. Here are a few different types of apples that you can use to make your own applesauce:

golden delicious apples
granny smith apples
Honeycrisp apples
gala apples

For this homemade applesauce recipe, I am using Honeycrisp apples. I was able to find them in a 3 lb bag… perfect! I would suggest that whatever type of apple variety you choose, you use all of the same apples for each recipe.

How to Make Applesauce

First, wash, peel, core, and cut the apples into chunks.

Do this for all of the apples.

cut up peeled apple chunks on cutting board

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Next, place the peeled apples into a large pot. I love my Caraway cookware set. It’s non-toxic and safe for all kinds of cooking. You can find them online along with all of my kitchen essentials.

Then add the apple cider to the pot with the apples. If you don’t have apple cider, you can add a little water instead.

Cook over medium heat, covered, for 20 minutes until the apples are tender.

If you plan to add cinnamon to the applesauce recipe you can add it now. Prefer a stronger cinnamon infusion? Throw in a few cinnamon sticks while the apples cook. Fish them out before blending for a smoother texture.

After 20 minutes remove the apples from the heat.

Next, you will need a food processor. This is the food processor that I have and love. You can find it online here: food processor. If you do not have a food processor, you can use an immersion blender or even a potato masher.

Spoon the cooked apples into a food processor.

Blend the apples until smooth. The food processor blends perfectly smooth applesauce in under a minute.

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Best Applesauce Recipe

Homemade apple sauce is so much better than store-bought applesauce. You can customize it with different apple variations and add spices if you’d like.

homemade applesauce in white dish with spoon

Transfer the applesauce to mason jars, or another airtight container.

how to make applesauce, homemade applesauce recipe in mason jar

This easy recipe is ready in under 30 minutes and can be enjoyed warm over vanilla ice cream or as a side dish at room temperature.

The best part about making this easy applesauce recipe is that it contains no added sugar, and has the best flavor.

I make this unsweetened applesauce recipe often to use in a variety of baked apple recipes, like muffins, and applesauce cake. Here are a few recipes that use applesauce in the ingredients:

How to Make the Best Easy Applesauce Recipe

Name: How to Make the Best Easy Applesauce Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 0
Cuisine: clean eating
Ingredients: 3 lbs apples (10-12 apples); 1/2 cup apple cider; optional - 1 tsp cinnamon

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

This easy applesauce recipe is made with only two ingredients. If you ever crave a perfectly spiced, healthy snack but are short on time, look no further than homemade applesauce.